Tuesday, February 6

Titans of Filth coming to Drunken Unicorn on Fri., 2/9

From their Myspace page:

There once was a band they named Titans If you have a party, invite em Their songs are all bleak Their bodies are weak Their talents are all set to frighten

This Friday night, Athens popsters Titans of Filth will be appearing at Atlanta's Drunken Unicorn. I was introduced to this band only a few months ago, and by all indications they're another strong Athens band to watch. Goodness knows I've been listening to them quite a bit (as does Audioscrobbler). While they are from the same city as other pop bands I've mentioned here recently, their sound stands in stark contrast to acts like Casper & The Cookies, Ice Cream Socialists, or King of Prussia. Rather than hook-laden romps or frenetic anthems, Titans of Filth appear to concentrate heavily (though not exclusively) on mid-tempo songs with darker, more introspective lyrics than their local counterparts. However, that isn't to say that they can't write some foot-tapping fun songs too.

The quintet employs the standard guitar/bass/drums setup, and also adds both violin and accordion. Primary vocal duties are handled by Sam Grindstaff, and violinist Ann also sings harmonies. My understanding is that in its earliest incarnation, the band featured piano rather than accordion, but they've since adopted full-time use of the ol' squeezebox.

Their recorded output to date consists of a single 5-song EP, which I was lucky enough to acquire back in December. Titled Best Behavior, the EP was received well enough to be selected by Flagpole as one of its 10 favorite Athens releases for 2006. Notably, it was also recorded by Jason NeSmith of the aforementioned Casper & The Cookies. Although I hate to put up 60% of the EP at once, I really want folks to check these guys out... so have at it:

They're playing at the DU with a pair of bands seemingly interested in hungry and/or amorous extremities -- One Hand Loves the Other and Feeding Fingers. I'm not familiar with either, but I'm interested in checking them out.